LONDON, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Georg Kell, founder of the UnitedNations' top corporate sustainability programme, is set to beappointed as vice-chairman at Anglo-German asset managerArabesque, the firm said on Monday.
Kell's appointment, which remains subject to regulatoryapproval, is the second high-profile board move in recentmonths, after Harvard academic Robert Eccles was named chairmanin June.
Arabesque, a fund firm that uses environmental, social andgovernance sustainability criteria within a systematic tradingstrategy, was set up in 2011 by Barclays, before beingbought out by management, under founder Omar Selim.
The move for Kell follows a 15-year stint as the foundingexecutive director of the UN Global Compact, the world's largestvoluntary corporate sustainability initiative with over 8,000corporate signatories from more than 160 countries.
Kell was also heavily involved in other sustainabilityinitiatives, including the Principles for Responsible Investment(PRI), over the course of his 25-year U.N. career, Arabesquesaid.
"Winning over the world of finance is the next big thing, nodoubt," said Kell. "When asked what holds them back, reasonnumber one for CEOs is that investors do not sufficientlyappreciate sustainability investments, because expectations forshort-term returns still prevail."
"The asset management industry is hopelessly lagging behindthe real economy," he said. (Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Keith Weir)
Barclays (BARC)
